Detectives from the Montgomery County Police-Major Crimes Division are investigating a homicide that occurred shortly after midnight in Gaithersburg.

This morning at approximately 12:09 a.m., patrol units responded to a reported burglary that had just occurred at a residence in the 7200 block of Cliff Pine Drive in Gaithersburg. The caller, an adult male, reported that a subject had tried to break in to the residence and that he had killed him.

Officers arrived to the scene and located the caller and a deceased male. Preliminary investigation determined that this was not a burglary and that the caller and the deceased individual were known to each other. Detectives have determined that a hatchet was used in this crime. The victim’s body was located in a wooded area behind the residence.

The victim has been identified as Michael Phillip Harvey, age 25, of an unconfirmed address.

The suspect, Claude Alexander Allen III, age 20, was taken into custody and has been charged with homicide. Major Crimes Division detectives continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death.